The Cranes
by Wenham-Wonderer
Summary: A WHAT IF fic. What if Christop didn't wimp out at the forest? What if he stayed with Ivy through everything? Noah's attack, and finding the road. What will Kitty think when she finds out he was injured by 'The Creature? Fluff and Angst, all in one! ( Huh


A/N I strongly caution the words " What if" in this okay? I know Christop whimped out, but this seemed like an interesting idea.

Warning: Angst and Fluffiness! Beware the Fluffy! runs around like maniac, then runs into a pole and is knocked unconcius

* * *

Kitty Crane sat nervously in her chair. Finton Coin had come back the night before, but Christop and Ivy were still out there. Kitty was very worried. Two of the people she cared very deeply about were out in the woods, and Christop might get killed by the monsters. The thought of this made Kitty cry.

" Stupid man." she mumbled to herself " had to be the 'brave one' out of the two escorts . " Kitty sobbed even harder. She fiddled with the necklace on her neck and sighed. She bit her lip and looked at the old, antique clock in the living room . 12:30 a.m. _' They should be back by now .'_ Kitty frowned. She then heard a knock on the door. She went to the front and opened the door to see Joseph Clack, leaning on the side, apparently he had been running .

" Iv... Ivy and Christop are back, they were attacked by a monster, Christop got a slash through the stomach, and Ivy..." he paused to take a breath " killed the monster. She got the medicines, and somehow got Christop back ...on...a...sling of some sort. He is in the sick room with Lucius..." he took another breath " Hunt."

" Is Christop alright? Is he okay? Tell me Joseph !" Kitty demanded.

" He's unconcious, but still breathing. " then he sped off to the next house to tell the news to the next family. Kitty sped out of her door, as fast as she possibly could, and headed for the Sick Room.

" Oh no." Mr. Walker said when he saw Kitty running. " Oh, no. Cover Christop's wound! Now! Kitty shouldn't see it! " People scurried around to find a blankett to cover Christop's wound. They got one over him just as Kitty entered. Kitty let out a soft yelp of horror when she saw her husband unconcious on the bed.

" Papa! Oh, Papa is he going to live?"

" Well..."

" Well what! Oh good sweet God in heaven he's going to die isn't he!" Kitty doubled over, crying.

" No! No , Kitty he won't die! He won't die! Christop will be okay!" Mr. Walker said, trying to hold Kitty up. Kitty struggled out of his grasp and headed for Christop's bed.

" No! Get her! Take her away! She can't see his injuries!" Joseph and Finton grabbed Kitty on either sides of her arms and began to pull her away.

" Christop!" she cried " Christop!" Kitty was kicking the air madly, trying to get them to put her down." Christop! No! Put me down ! Christop!" Kitty began to cry harder. "Christop! CHRISTOP!" Kitty succesfully kicked her two captors and ran to his bedside. " Christop, it's me Kitty. You'll be alright, you'll be okay, you'll be alright, you'll be okay." Kitty said, warming his hands against her own. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, then went back to just staring at him.

" Kitty, you shouldn't see his wounds. It's really not..." but too late, Kitty lifted up the blanket and screamed. Mr. Walker closed his eyes.

" Dear sweet God in heaven! Christop!" Kitty began to sob even harder then before. Ivy entered the room once more after she had eaten and she heard crying.

" Papa? Who's crying?"

" Kitty."

" Oh, about Christop's injury?"

" Yes." Ivy felt her way over to Kitty.

" Kitty, it will be alright. He won't die. "

" How do you know? " she snapped. " For all we know he could be dying right now and none of us would even notice! Oh God Christop I wouldn't have agreed to you going if I knew this was going to happen." Kitty rested her head on her hand and fresh tears came to her eyes.

" Now you know what it's like to have your love be rendered unconcious by an attack. " the elders didn't have the heart to tell Ivy that she had killed Noah. Or that it was Noah who had made this situation. The two Walker sisters stayed by their love's bedsides, gently stroking their hands. Kitty lifted up Christop's hand and looked at his face.

" I never appriciated him before." Kitty said softly. Ivy, who was the only other ' concious' person in the room looked up.

" Excuse me?"

" I said, I never really appriciated Christop before . "

" Why?"

" Well, of course I love him. A lot. Otherwise I wouldn't have married him, but... I never appriciated all he has done for me. What he's sacrificed, what he has learned." a tear fell down Kitty's face. " I love him."

" I know." Ivy said.

" He's the world to me... if he dies, I'll... I'll..."

" Die?" Ivy said. " Yes I felt the same way when Lucius got stabbed. "

" Hmm. " For a long while they sat at the bedsides in silence, both looking at the ones they loved, silently praying for their lives." It's not true." Kitty said all of a sudden.

"What?"

" I remember, just a few hours before Christop left, overhearing a conversation he had with Jaminson." little did Kitty know, Christop was regaining conciouness, and could hear her words." I remember it all to clearly."

* * *

_" So, Christop why are you going on this trip anyway?" Jamison asked. _

_" What do you mean?" Christop replied, Kitty could hear him stuff something in a bag._

_" Well, you could care less about Lucius couldn't you? After all, he did get Kitty's affection first." there was silence, for ten whole minutes, silence._

_" That is true." Christop finally admitted qiuetly. " But a crime like what has just happened should not be wished upon anyone." Kitty felt the feeling of love for his kindness inside her, but then it faded slightly. " Though I must confess , dear friend, that, that is not my only reason for going." _

_" Oh? What is the other, pray?" _

_" Kitty, she..." Kitty could hear his voice break slightly. " I was a fool, and idiot to think she fell in love with me for who I was, how I cared for her, how I spoke to her. " again a moment of silence " She didn't fall in love with me for that. " his voice became cold , distant, and heart-broken. " She used me as a way out. A second choice. If she couldn't have the strong and silent man she wanted she might as well have a fling with the rowly, loud, life-loving person, the one who could bring her mind off of her loss. The one she could use to make the other jealous. The one..." she could hear his voice failing him for a moment " the one who she thinks she can leave on the side, and forget after awhile. " she could hear him silently crying. "And though I love her more then anything in the world, more then any of my possesions, more then life itself, she doesn't care. She never has. When she said she would marry me, you have no idea how happy I felt, how complete, how at peace I was. " _

_" That must have felt nice." Jamison said, sounding a bit in awe of his friends deep words. Kitty to felt moved, but also grieved._

_" It did." _

_" So what happened? When did you start to feel you were ..."_

_" Living a lie? Well, it started very, very soon. Right after we came back from the Sick Room to here. She was silent, distant, cold. She kept muttering ' I can't believe he's going to die, I can't believe he's going to die.' over and over again. She wouldn't let me anywhere near her, snapping at me harshly, or sending cruel, mean remarks like 'Get away freak' or 'What? Afraid that chair will ruin your shirt?'. They hurt me, but mostly because it came from her, and after she spilled hot coffee on my head for me asking if she wanted a cup, she stormed off into our room and shut the door. " Christop sighed " After about a hundred attempts to calm her down, asking if I could just come in and try to help her, she finally lost it and told me to buzz off. She told me that I never knew how it felt to lose someone I loved to a crime. That is when I knew, she didn't love me." _

_" Dear God. I'm sorry Christop. I'd be upset right now if I were you as well." ' So would I' Kitty thought to herself. _

_" Yes well, this will hopefully be the last time I see this home." _

_" What do you mean?" _

_" I... honestly Jamison, I'm actually hoping the monsters kill me in the forest. It's better then living here ." he went quiet then spoke again " Living a lie." _

_" Christop don't . God, please don't." Jamison said, worried._

_" Why? You honestly believe me to stay here, and live a lie for the rest of my life?" _

_" Well, no... but Christop, at least be careful in there." _

_" I'll... try." Kitty scurried when she heard them walk towards the door. She made it to the kitchen in time to go by the stove, where she was previously, making some tea. Christop and Jamison came into the kitchen just 10 seconds after she grasped the handle of the pot. " Good Bye Kitty. I'll see you... tomarrow." Christop said,lightly kissing her on the cheek, then walking to the door._

_" Bye..." Kitty called out. He left the house, shutting the door behind him and Jamison " my love." _

* * *

" Oh my God, your kidding...right?" Ivy asked. 

" No." Kitty sighed " When I heard he had been injured, I knew he had done what he had intended to do." Kitty began to cry again. " God, if only I could be in his arms again , hear his voice talk to me gently, as it always did, kiss his warms lips, the ones that always seemed to make me shiver with excitement when ever they touched me, know I was safe with him, but now that might all fade into nothing. Ivy, I love him more then anyone could possibley imagine. He was never a secind choice, never. Honestly, between you and me Ivy, I was indtending to use Lucius to make _Christop _jealous, then I thought that didn't feel right. I lead myself to believe I loved Lucius, when I really didn't love him at all. If I had ended up with him , _I_ would have been the one living the lie, decieving him, leading him to believe something that wasn't, like I had done to myself."

" I see." Ivy looked pensive for a long while.

* * *

The last thing Kitty saw before she fell asleep was Ivy getting up and brushing herself off. When Kitty awoke, hours later, she saw that the room was dark, faintly lit with candles on either side of the two occupents in the beds. The light next to Christop's bed, however, was rather bright, as if someone had made it that way so that they could read. Then she felt it. A hand, slowly moving through her hair over and over again. Kitty looked towards Christop's head and saw that he was awake, reading a book, and absentmindedly running his hand through her hair. 

" Christop!" Kitty squeeled. " Oh, Christop! Your awake!"

" Shhh! It's nearly midnight. You'll wake up half of the Village if you yell so loudly!" Christop said, putting a finger on her mouth to hush her.

" Oh, sorry. " Kitty said, blushing. She went closer to him and smiled. " We were all worried about you." she said, taking his hand in her own.

" I know." Christop said, lowering his eyelids a bit out of fatigue.

" I was really worried." Christop smiled.

" I know."

" Christop, earlier on I ... I told Ivy that I..."

" Overheard my conversation with Joseph." Kitty went wide eyed.

" How did you?"

" I regained conciusness just when you began the story."

" Then you know I never wanted you to think that I didn't love you."

" Yes."

" Oh, Christop!" Kitty hugged him tightly and he winced, in pain from his injury

" Kitty! Kitty my injury! Stop!."

" Oh! I'm sorry!" Kitty said covering her mouth.

" It's okay." he said, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. Carefully, he leaned up and kissed her, and she smiled.

" I love you."Kitty mummered.

" I love you too." Christop said, kissing her again.

* * *

Le Fin. 


End file.
